It’s a natural place to further develop community, and I’m glad they’re at least trying something, even if it’s a little corny J I mean, that’s one of the reasons we all play on Steam right? Brag about our achievements, rate games, see what others are playing. Me and say, my friend Jeff, can get Portal 2 badges through playing on Steam and trade with each other to earn badges and xp. I think that it’s a good idea because it helps further build community around gameplay, which is especially important with solo games like Sims. But none of that is why I think it’s kinda cool. Badges earn you XP toward your Steam level (yep, you have a Steam level now). You take the cards and can turn them into Steam badges or achievements. I thought they seemed really dumb at first, but upon researching them a little more I have changed my mind. Trading cards are a Steam thing where you get these virtual cards for playing games and for other random stuff (such as buying games during the Steam sale!). Tip 5: Here’s the deal with trading cards So be thankful that someone sat in his Canadian apartment for 7 years to make a game you now just bought for $6, and let it go. Some sites like Good Old Games have explicitly stated that heavily discounting games, such as during the Steam summer sale, hurts game developers because they aren’t getting the money they need to develop more games. And in the end, our dollars are going to help people make even better games. So you just paid $6 on Fez and now it’s up for a community choice option for $4. It’s a game in patience, in foresight, in self-restraint. Tip 4: If you paid more, don’t beat yourself up I just got Remember Me for $30 by using the latter method. You can also sign up for Steam to contact you when it does go on sale. If you’re looking for one specific game, you can just look it up to see if it’s on sale anyway. Sometimes there are incredible deals, up to 80% off, that aren’t even listed. Just because games aren’t on the front page doesn’t mean that they aren’t on sale. Tip 3: If it isn’t on the front page, don’t panic If you work or sleep in, that’s cool, but you need to check on Steam between 1-9 to get the most out of the sale (preferably, at 8:30 and 9:30pm… like anyone could wait until 8:30 to check the sale). Yesterday’s Big Deals: 24 hours, switches at 1pm dailyĪs you can see, the biggest change takes place at 1pm. Timing looks like this:ĭaily Deals: 24 hours, switches at 1pm dailyįlash Sales: 8 hours, switches at 1pm, 9pm, 5am dailyĬommunity Choice: 8 hours, switches at 1pm, 9pm, 5am daily Not only is it when the 24 hour games role over, but it also lines up with the flash sales. Breathe let your connection beef up a bit things will be ok.ġ:00pm is the most important time during the Steam sale. They won’t run out if you won’t make it within the first 15 minutes of a sale being announced. But, when reflecting back on it, it’s pretty silly. I… well to put it bluntly I about lost my mind hitting the refresh button. Some of us waited 30 minutes, some of us had to wait hours. When the Steam summer sale was announced, many of us were unable to log in. So here are my tips for surviving the sale. Each summer they do an amazing sale where games are insanely discounted. It’s a great platform for buying all sorts of games without having to leave your gaming chair. So I’ve written this post to give a psychological lift and some sound advice for how I get through one of the hardest wallet-hitting parts of the summer.įor those of you who don’t know what Steam is, if you care about gaming at all you should get it. But let’s be honest, the Steam sale is emotionally and economically draining (damaging? Invigorating?) for us all. Maybe you even have a few games from that sale that you haven’t gotten around to. It wasn’t that long ago that we all experienced our first Steam sale. I don’t want to hear whining because this info is a “no duh” for you game pros.